Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

April Fool's joke on school shooting sends Upstate woman to jail

A report of a shooting at Virginia College in Spartanburg County sent deputies racing to the scene. Within minutes, however, they found no shooting had taken place.

Instead, they found a 54-year-old employee of the college, Angela Timmons, had sent a text message to a family member telling them "she was hearing gunshots inside the college and that she was hiding for her own safety," according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

When the family member got no response to a follow-up text, the family member called 911 to report a possible shooting in progress at Virginia College.

When questioned by investigators, Timmons admitted it was an April Fool's prank, according to deputies.

She was charged with one count of disturbing schools.

Related

Related

Follow Us

Oops, you haven't selected any newsletters. Please check the box next to one or more of our email newsletters and submit again.

Oops, you didn't provide a valid email address. Please double-check the email field and submit again.

Sign up for email newsletters

Breaking News Receive breaking news as soon as it happens (emails per day varies).

AM Newsletter Start the day with the top stories from TheState.com (1 email per day).

GoColumbia Newsletter Stay up to date, locally (emails per day varies).

Morning Business Newsletter Stay in touch with business news in the Midlands and beyond with updates from thestate.com (1 email per day).

PM Newsletter Keep up with today's top stories from TheState.com (1 email per day).

The Buzz on SC Politics A morning memo and afternoon political news digest (2 emails per day, M-F).

Advertising at The State Stay up to date with our latest products and services as well as industry best practices from the advertising department (1-3 emails per week).

Editor's Choice Videos

Join the Discussion

The State is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.